The Truth Perry Mason: TCOT Notorious Nun
by dellaandperrylover
Summary: A "missing moment" to the case of the Notorious Nun tv movie .


Della Street nonchalantly reached across the desk to pick up the telephone. "Perry Mason Law Offices." That was a grandeur term for their current 'offices'. While Perry was making the transition back to L.A. from San Francisco, they had set up a make shift office in Della's spare bedroom. They had just purchased office space and were in the process of getting settled. Everywhere there were boxes stacked upon boxes of old files and law books that Perry wanted. The file cabinets they had ordered, as well as most of the other furniture, had yet to arrive. Della, ever the perfectionist, was going insane. And the mess was the reason she had stayed in L.A. while Perry was in Denver to visit with an old friend of theirs.

"Miss Street?"

"Yes, this is Miss Street, how may I help you?"

"This is the St. Francis Hospital in Denver, CO." Della's heart began beating just a little faster. "We have you listed as an emergency contact for a Mr. Perry Mason, Archbishop Corro asked me to get in touch with you."

"Perry!" She screamed in her head. "Oh no, no, no..." Della reigned in her fears and replied with a restrained. "Yes, I am Mr. Mason's secretary. Is something is wrong?" Once again the voice inside her head began screaming. "Please just tell me he's still alive; anything as long as he's alive." Della forced herself to focus on the voice on the other side of the line.

"I am afraid there is, Miss Street. Mr. Mason has been admitted. He apparently collapsed. They believe it was from exhaustion, but the doctor has not ruled out the possibility of a heart attack. They have begun running tests now and he will remain under observation until the doctor decides on the next step."

The lump in her throat caused her voice to crack and tears stung in her eyes. The fear of losing him so shortly after getting him back overwhelmed her. "Is… is he going to be okay? Is he conscious? Can I speak with him?"

"Mr. Mason is in stable condition, but they are keeping him sedated for the time being. I'm afraid that is all the information I have available at this time."

"Okay, thank you. Please tell the Archbishop that I will be there as soon as I can make arrangements."

Della was just this side of panic. Her normally calm and efficient manner was being replaced by that of a woman forced to talk to herself in order to remain calm. "It is okay, Della. She said he was stable. You have to call Paul and let him know what's going on and then you have to call the airport." With her hands shaking, she dialed the number to Paul's office. "Damn," she muttered when she got no answer. Not having the time to track him down, Della simply left him a message.

All through the flight and the cab ride to the hospital Della had the same conversation with herself. "He's fine Della. The nurse said he was stable and they were just running some precautionary tests. There is no reason to over react. He simply overexerted himself." No sooner than she had finished the thought would she begin to second guess her confident assessment and the fear would rise in her again. "If he was able to overexert himself to the point of collapsing just by taking a walk, then something has to be wrong. That isn't normal." She would run all the possibilities through her mind which in turn sparked her guilt and self accusatory reprimands. She condemned herself for not going to San Francisco with him. "If only I had been there," she told herself, "I could have watched what he ate and encouraged him to keep up his work outs just as I'd always done. This is my fault. Losing him again is my punishment for having been so selfish and for not having faith in the two of us." These thoughts formed a continuous circuit in her head.

By the time Della got to the hospital she had once again convinced herself of the worst. "Please God," she begged, "please." She was normally as cool as a cucumber in difficult situations. It was one of the things that Perry was first attracted to when they first met. But the thought of losing him again had shaken her to her core. Not after we finally found our way back to one another." Della felt incredibly blessed to have Perry back in her life. Not just for a visit and not just as an old friend, but really and truly back. Though he'd never left her heart the time that he wasn't in her arms had been awful. She ran onto the nearest elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. Her nerves were getting the best of her now and she let out an impatient huff as the elevator stopped at each of the other floors. Finally the doors opened to the correct floor and in a barely contained frenzy she looked for the right corridor. Della finally reached his room and halted. From the moment she'd learned Perry was sick all she'd wanted to do was get to him. Now that she was here she was afraid to open the door; afraid to know the truth. Not to mention that she knew she had to calm down. She wouldn't be any good to Perry if she didn't keep her head on straight. She had long ago resigned herself to not letting Perry know how upset she was or how much she needed him. Old habits were hard to break. Finally after a few deep breaths she gently knocked on the door before peering in. She saw him lying in the bed sleeping. "How is he?"

Stefan turned to glance at her. "Oh he's fine."

Della slowly walked towards the bed noting his color was good and his breathing seemed normal. He opened an eye to peer at her before smiling. "I feel like I could ski down Mt. Whitney."

"He never could catch up to me," Stefan taunted.

"That's true but I could play Gin, gin."

Della released an audible sigh as it dawned to her that Perry really was fine and that these two old friends were up to something.

"Ouch," Stefan mocked as Perry laid down his hand. He looked to Della. "How was your flight?"

Della ignored him not wanting to let her emotions overwhelm her in front of Stefan. Her frustration level, even her anger, was higher than it had been in a long time. She wanted to both throttle him and kiss him madly at the same time. "Perry I was worried to death about you. They told me you collapsed from exhaustion. I rushed here from the airport. I didn't even go to the hotel."

Stefan intervened trying to help Perry. "I'm the one to blame Della. You see, a few weeks ago I brought in a priest, a trouble shooter, to look into the Archdiocese financial affairs. I haven't gotten the final report yet, but he's certain there's embezzlement in this hospital."

"Stefan asked me to help investigate. Several of his close advisors may be involved."

"Your secret would have been very safe with me."

"Sorry for the deception Della. For the moment I want to stay undercover."

Perry sheepishly pulled the sheet over him as though he was hiding. Della couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so cute and her overwhelming relief had tempered her frustration. And she knew if she didn't laugh she would probably cry. "Very clever."

"You think so? Tomorrow we go to work. We'll start by speaking with your Father O'Neill."

Stefan stood up. "Well, I must be going."

"Hey, when do I get the sixteen dollars you owe me?"

"When we finish the game, not before."

They all said their jovial goodbyes but Della noticed Perry's expression turned serious as soon as Stefan closed the door behind him. "About you…," she said accusingly. There was still a small amount of frustration evident in her voice.

Perry dismissed her. "I've known that man for forty two years and I've never seen him like this."

"It's that serious?"

"Everything he's worked for is on the line."

Della looked at Perry and her compassion won the battle with her remaining irritation. She could tell he was truly concerned about Stefan. Della reached out and took his hand, gently rubbing the back of it with her thumb. With a reassuring voice she tried to comfort him. "We'll get him out of this." Still holding his hand Della averted her eyes not wanting him to see how truly upset she had been due to the events of the day. "I'm glad you're okay," she said softly.

Perry pulled her up to sit next to him and raised her hand to his lips. "I'm fine," he reassured her. "I've missed you," he murmured stroking her face. "It's been a long day; you go on to the hotel and get some rest."

Della smiled at him. "I am tired." She glanced back and double checked that the door was closed before leaning in and kissing him softly. "I'll be thinking of you lying in this tiny, lumpy hospital bed while I'm soaking chin deep in bubbles in that big hotel Jacuzzi," she teased.

Perry smiled and gave her a sweeping look before replying. "And I'll be thinking of you soaking in that big Jacuzzi while I'm lying here in this tiny," he shifted uncomfortably, "and very lumpy hospital bed."

"Serves you right." Once again, Della leaned in and brushed his lips with hers. "I'll see you in the morning."

Long after Della was gone Perry sat staring at the door through which the love of his life had just left. He was trying to gage Della's reaction to what had just occurred. "She seemed a bit upset, even a little angry, when she found out it was all a ruse but not overly so," he thought to himself. Perry was ashamed to admit he felt a stab of disappointment at her lack of a reaction. As the true reasoning for his deception began to dawn on him he felt even more ashamed. He realized he'd been a complete, and insensitive ass. He realized that he had legitimized his deception by telling himself that he was only trying to help Stefan. He'd legitimized it by telling himself that the fewer people who knew of their plan the better. But there had been no logical reason not to tell Della. Perry knew the real reason he went along with Stefan's plan and he could barely admit it to himself. He wanted to test her; to try and see how much his well-being mattered to her. Perry shook his head. He was disgusted with himself. He knew she loved him, but he just had to push her to see … to see … how much. While Perry knew those eight years apart had not destroyed her love for him, he needed desperately to make sure they had not diminished it. Perry couldn't believe himself. The old saying, 'love sure does funny things to people,' came to his mind. "And the fear and insecurity brought on by that love does even stranger things," he said to himself.

Della sank down into the tub hoping the heat would soothe the tension from her body. She knew though, that it would do nothing for the tension in her heart. As the adrenaline rush had settled the full emotional impact of the day began to settle on her. The fear of losing him, the realization of how deep that fear ran, the hurt that he had not trusted her enough to tell her the truth, and the hurt that he hadn't realized how deeply she would be affected by his peril, it all became too much. Della closed her eyes and allowed her tears to fall.

The next morning Della entered Perry's room only to find it empty. A nurse walked by and Della asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Mr. Mason is?"

The young nurse looked at her and smiled. "Yes, they just took him down for one more test. It's just a precautionary measure required before the doctor can release him. He should be back in a few minutes."

Della nodded, "Okay, thank you." Della walked over to the large window that looked out over the cold city of Denver. She had decided last night that she needed to tell Perry how she felt. Their lack of communication and their unwillingness to admit how much the other was needed had led to their separation and Della was determined she would not let it happen again.

Within a few minutes an orderly wheeled Perry into the room. She turned to face him, not attempting to brush away the few stray tears that had fallen. As soon as the orderly was gone Perry closed the space between them. "Della, what's wrong? What is it?"

She allowed him to pull her close, letting herself be held by him. She breathed in his scent and remembered all the years she had longed for his touch. Finally she looked up at him. "Perry, yesterday I … I was," the tears began falling in earnest, "so scared. All I could think about was how I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you. I don't think I could go through that again."

"Della…" he began to interrupt her but she put her hand up to stop him.

"Please Perry, let me get through this." He nodded. "I've always been afraid to admit, to myself and to you, how much I need you. But now, for the sake of our relationship, I see that's exactly what I need to do. You are everything to me Perry. I love you more than I know how to say; I always have. I can't bear to think of the day when I have to wake up and realize you're not there. In fact, it terrifies me. But if that is the price I have to pay for loving you as much as I do then I'll gladly pay it, because I refuse to love you any less." Della finally paused to take a breath. "One more thing, I know you were only trying to help Stefan, and I respect you for that, but I won't deny that it hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on."

Perry wrapped her in his arms. His need to kiss her was driving his actions. His lips clung to hers for several moments. Finally he released her. "I am so sorry. It had nothing to do with me not trusting you." Perry looked away from her not sure he could admit to her the reason behind his actions when he could barely admit it to himself. "Della last night, after you left, I realized why I had gone along with Stefan's plan. I … I just … I wanted to see how you would react." He still could not look at her. At that moment he looked like a little boy confessing to his mother.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"Della, I know that I would give my life to make you happy, and ... I know that you love me. I guess … after everything … I just … needed to know how much I meant to you." He saw her eyes narrow in anger but then they softened, and Perry breathed a sigh of relief.

Della knew she didn't have the right to be upset with him. While she may not agree with the way he went about it, she should have let him know a long time ago that her life was nothing without him. If she had, they might have never gone their separate ways eight years ago. She leaned up and kissed him lightly. "Do you know now?"

Smiling at her he replied, "I think I'm beginning to understand."

Della kissed him again, this time a little deeper. "What about now?"

"It's a little clearer," he replied, encircling her waist with his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, "and now?"

He put forth his biggest grin, his dimples shining. "Clear as a bell, Miss Street. Although I am getting to be an old man and my mind isn't what it used to be. You may have to remind me every now and then."

Her laugh was low and throaty. "Old man my foot and your mind is still as sharp as a tack," she gave him a demure smile, "but I look forward to reminding you every now and then. All you have to do is ask." And she proceeded to remind him just in case the details were a little fuzzy.


End file.
